JERUSALEM: Families of Israeli hostages taken captive in Gaza by Islamist group Hamas fear their loved ones are in greater danger after Israeli troops killed the militant group’s leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Israel’s military and the Shin Bet security service confirmed on Thursday (Oct 17) that Sinwar, the architect of the devastating attack on Israel last October that set off the Gaza war, had been killed on Wednesday by Israeli forces who were conducting an operation in southern Gaza.
“We have settled the score with the chief murderer Sinwar. But now, more than ever, the lives of Matan, my son, and the other hostages are in tangible danger,” said Einav Zangauker, whose 24-year-old son was abducted from their kibbutz home during Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attack.
“There will not be a real closing of the circle, no total victory if we do not save their lives and bring them all back,” said Zangauker in a video after news of Sinwar’s death emerged on Thursday.
So far, 117 hostages have returned home alive, including four released at the start of the Gaza war, 105 mostly women, children and foreigners who returned last November during a brief truce with Hamas, and eight rescued by the military.
